


The World in a Grain of Sand

by Nestra



Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery
Genre: Female Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-20
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-21 15:39:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/599406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nestra/pseuds/Nestra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I want to know . . . not just believe . . . that the world is round."  --Katherine Brooke, Anne of Windy Poplars</p>
            </blockquote>





	The World in a Grain of Sand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [somnolentblue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/somnolentblue/gifts).



> Thanks to my betas. The [Anne of Green Gables and L.M. Montgomery Lexicon](http://www.lmm-anne.net/archives/2008/timelines/anne.html) was a great source for timeline information.

"Katherine!" Anne exclaimed, throwing her arms around the tall figure that stepped down from the train. "It's so wonderful to see you!"

Katherine looked the same as she had when Anne had last seen her over ten years ago, tall and dark and imposing, except for the smile that easily crossed her face. She returned Anne's hug, then reached to shake Gilbert's hand as he took her suitcase.

"Oh, Anne," she sighed, "I'm so glad to be here."

"You must be so tired of traveling, after a week on an ocean liner and two more days getting here." Anne wrapped an arm around Katherine's shoulders and guided her down the platform. "I'm afraid I can't promise you a quiet house, with six children running around everywhere, but it is welcoming and warm and full of life."

Ingleside was indeed full of life, as the Blythe children rushed to the door to greet the arrivals. Anne introduced each of them to Katherine, who solemnly shook five small hands and waved at Rilla, cradled in Susan's arms.

"I'll put the kettle on while you wash up," said Susan, "and I have plum puffs just out of the oven."

"Not Marilla's famous plum puffs?" Katherine asked.

"The very same." Anne held out her hands for Katherine's hat and jacket. "And while you're here for two glorious weeks, we shall eat as many of them as we can, and never get a stomach ache."

The four oldest children scattered outside to play in the approaching twilight, dragging Gilbert along with them to serve as referee, horse, and inhabitant of Fairyland, depending on the game. Katherine watched the hubbub with a faint smile.

"I'm sorry for all of the chaos," Anne said, pouring the steaming tea. "I'm afraid it's unavoidable with so many little ones."

Katherine scoffed. "Don't you dare apologize. You've never been happier in your life."

"You're absolutely right," Anne said, "and I retract the apology. I'm never sorry for a minute, even when the baby wakes up in the middle of the night and I trip over one of Shirley's toys, passing Gilbert in the hall as he creeps in from a late-night delivery. But never mind that, you'll have plenty of time here with the children underfoot. Tell me about all of your travels! Your letters were wonderful, but nothing compares to hearing it straight from you."

"Oh, Anne," Katherine sighed. "The time I spent at Green Gables was the first time I was truly happy. I finally felt like I could breathe, that there was a world outside the narrow little rooms I'd been trapped in for so long. And what a world it is." She cradled her teacup in the long-fingered hands that Anne had always admired. "It defies description. Even someone with your talent for words would be struck speechless."

"My dearest dreams were always about people," Anne said, "not places. I had no end of words about imaginary friends and dark, handsome strangers."

"The people are as dizzying as anything else." Katherine paused, gazing out of the window at the scattered clouds dotting the sky. "Imagine standing in the middle of Vienna, hearing six languages spoken at once...the smell of unfamiliar, wonderful food...buildings towering above and around you...and every time you blink you open your eyes to something new."

They sat and drank tea and devoured plum puffs, while Susan bustled around and the voices of the children floated in from outside. Each place Katherine described sounded more wonderful than the last. Rome, Istanbul, Madrid, Casablanca -- her words made them real, and yet as fantastical as Camelot or Atlantis.

"Katherine, I am so happy for you." Anne reached over to grip her hand. "You've truly found the life you were meant to live."

"Thanks to you. If you hadn't poked and prodded me, I'd probably still be teaching at Summerside, hating myself and everyone else."

"You were especially stubborn," Anne laughed. "I thought I'd never get through to you."

"Thank God you did," said Katherine solemnly. "If you hadn't, I would have suffocated, like a plant starved for sunlight. I can't imagine being tied down to one place."

Anne closed her eyes and took a deep breath, picturing herself in some grand European city, in the middle of the thronging crowds with all the wonders of the world surrounding her. Her soul thrilled at the vision -- a majestic cathedral looming above her, museums full of priceless artwork, palaces and towers and bridges with the history of the world imbued in them. For a moment, her beloved homey kitchen seemed small to her, with its gingham curtains and spotless table.

"Oh, Anne, I'm sorry," Katherine said. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded."

Anne shook off her reverie. "I know. I wouldn't trade my life for yours, my darling Katherine, even for all the glories it contains. Mrs. Lynde would be horrified to hear me say it, but there are some people made to wander the world. And there are people like me, who glory in hearth and home."

"Your children are lovely."

"They and Gilbert are everything to me." Anne's hand went to her throat, where she wore a necklace that had been a present from Gilbert and the children in March, on her birthday. The feel of the tiny pendant under her fingers was like a good-luck charm. "I am thirty-five, and you are forty. When I was sixteen, or even twenty, that seemed impossible! And even worse, old!"

"There's time yet for many things. And I'm your elder, so you're obligated to believe me."

Anne sighed, breathing in the scent of the roasted chicken that Susan was making for dinner. "Perhaps one day Gilbert and I will go over to Europe, when the children are older. Wander the cobblestoned streets, pay homage to the Seine and the Thames and the Arno. But until then, I have six of my own little charges to water and nurture. They will never lack for sunlight like you and I did."

Nan and Walter barreled through the back door, shrieking with laughter. Anne reached out for her daughter as she flew by and pulled her in for a kiss. Nan squirmed in her arms until Anne released her.

"The world is so very big, Katherine, and we are so small. And yet the small things are the most precious. The sound of the wind through the trees--"

"The sunlight on the steps of St. Peter's Cathedral--"

"A baby's first smile--"

"A stranger's friendly handshake."

Content in the love of her family and the warmth of friendship, Anne felt as if all the world, big and small, was laid at her feet. "I always knew you were a kindred spirit, Katherine."


End file.
